#and with this bizzare situation i sleep

[rae-pss]

If you’re still writing for Jojos Bizzare Adventure, could it be possible for sepals Squadra HCs with an S/O who sleepwalks often, mainly due to the medication they take + stressful evenings. Like- S/O goes off to bed and thirty minutes later their in the kitchen eating an imaginary bowl of cereal LOL.

masterlist

˗ˏˋ꒰ 💭 ꒱ . . . i only know the real basis about sleepwalking. thanks for requesting, i hope you like it, dear @rabidtoonz (<3). ˗ˏˋ꒰ 💭 ꒱ . . . lowercase intended, 448 words.

—in itself, everyone would leave you to your own devices, knowing there is no reason to wake you up, which isn't recommended by experts. despite that, once they know the reasons that may lead to your nocturnal situations, they'll try to make your day more pleasant to relax if you had a busy afternoon.

—we cannot deny that from all of them, the one who's going to have the best time with these has to be illuso. the various videos he has saved in which you appear doing the most random things possible while sleepwalking are clear proofs of it. same videos that he'll use as a method of extortion when he needs it.

—do not be fooled, he wouldn't be able to show those videos to anyone other than you and his person.

—next, there's formaggio who, despite also having videos as evidence, once got the shock of his life when he woke up in the early morning and found you staring directly at him from the edge of the bed. he didn't scream, but his soul did leave his body for a few good seconds.

—of those most concerned about your nocturnal activities are risotto and pesci, who genuinely don't know how to act when they find you doing something totally out of context at unholy hours.

—but for risotto, he certainly finds it entertaining to watch you wander around the place and do whatever you do. although, that doesn't mean that on more than one occasion he has closed the bedroom door to keep you from leaving, or that he was woken up with you doing the least expected thing you could do.

—the day ghiaccio saw you eating imaginary cereal in the kitchen, at 3am, his brain took its time trying to understand what you were doing there, doing such nonsense as if it were nothing. he was confused for a solid minute before just leaving you there.

—from time to time he has woken you up, in such a bad way by screaming. the boy already irritated from work and now encountering such a scene.

—i'd say that prosciutto doesn't care what you do in your sleepwalking state, that would be as long as you don't bother him or anyone else for a matter of fact.

—dare to wake him, unintentionally, from his sleep and prepare to be carried back to bed in your sleep.

—melone is almost the only one who would recommend a couple of tranquilizing medications that could help your case, he knows the medications you take so he learned which medications will work best for you (not to mention the various tests on your health that he has done).

[notthestarwar]

👀so… undead fox you say?

omg thank you for asking! sorry it took me so long to reply to this lol

ok i love this story its so twisty.

ok so it begins with this

'an old evil sleeps in the heart of Coruscant. there is something wrong with the coruscant guard'

this is from ch1 (it's a red herring dw)

hound finds the body of a clone and it becomes apparent that this is far from the first. the guard keep finding these bodies and theyre very sad about it but also being kind of shifty? like. they arent telling anyone outside the guard about it and theyre kinda dealing with it quietly.

meanwhile, the guard are trying to deal with hushing up another problem. theres something very wrong with Fox. he is acting kind of creepy. vacant and he's always staring off in to the distance with glazed eyes and theyre having to round him up and keep an eye on him at all times but he always manages to escape anyway. he's always talking about hearing the whispers of coruscant and saying bizzare shit. theyre trying to get him to keep his helmet on to hide that there is clearly something up with him but he's just not cooperating. he isnt really doing his job anymore and he also wont look after himself at all. theyre having to make him shower and clean his teeth and stuff.

pretty much: the guard is stressed as hell trying to keep this all under wraps. theyre having to dodge calls from foxs batchmates. the calls turn in to visits. theyre still finding dead clones round every corner on coruscant and going to a strange amount of effort to hide the deaths. you begin to get the idea that maybe… maybe its fox killing these clones.

eventually, cody turns up at the guard headquarters just as theyre taking in a dead clone. and. surprise! the dead clone is fox.

the story comes out, it turns out ALL the dead clones are fox. It started with the chancellor was sending fox on these weird missions. he came back from one of them different, (possesed) and ever since then the chancellor keeps killing him. every time, fox just reports in like normal after he wakes up. the chancellor is disturbed as hell. he cant find any way to use fox, fox is just a liability. if the jedi find out about this possessed clone, theyre going to start asking questions palpatine doesnt want asked. he's worried fox could be traced back to him. but heres the funny part. he is weirdly unnerved by fox. he's a bit of a control freak and he hates how out of control this situation is with fox and fox is generally…very creepy. in palpatines eyes its like. you kill your employee and the next morning he's standing at your desk like nothing has changed. he's unnerving!!! palpatine is so creeped out by fox that he doesnt want to imprison him so he just ends up with this tunnel vision trying all these different ways to kill him like. it'll work this time.

once cody finds out they go to the jedi and tell all. the jedi are like. right we need evidence so we can take down the chancellor. quin starts working on the case, but his proximity to new fox results in him being slightly possesed himself and falling. now they are weird and creepy together.

the whole point of the story is about the guard grieving someone whos still there. meanwhile, fox is trying to figure out who he is now (he eventually gets more of a hold over the posession and starts living again but hes a whole new person now.) while watching the guard mourn someone he doesnt remember how to be. he cant be that for them. his old self is a stranger.

its also about how trauma can make you worse. he knows that they all miss who he was but he's changed. quinlan is made worse by fox and neither of them really care. quinlan is happy to embrace this new him now hes fallen. theyre both making each other worse but they do love each other. the sith spirit iteself has been changed by trauma, it turns out that it was the spirit of a child thats been trapped in this sith temple for ages, slowly losing what it is to be human. the spirit possesses him both to save itself and to save fox. so the whole story is about these grey areas of morality. theyre not doing the right thing, nobody is, but at the same time its kind of understandable why??? its a mixed bag of fun ethical dilemas pretty much.

I've done a lot of thinking about the vibes of this and I've assigned a quote to each chapter like I did with dead from the beginning so that's been fun

This is the ending I've got planned. Fox and quin go off together as these new, worse versions of themselves. The guard and the jedi struggle to understand cause they're stuck on the ppl that Fox and quin were

[digeethegenie]

Crystal Brave, Crystal Fool

Day 28 - Deleterious Meaning: harmful often in a subtle or unexpected way

ShadowBringers (5.0) - Before Lv 70 : "The Syrcus Trench" Spoilers for Lv 79 : "Extinguishing the Last Light"

CW: Light body horror.

Alphinaud returns to The Crystarium to give one of his regular reports when he finds The Crystal Exarch colapsed, suffering from an afliction which calls to mind a fellow from his homeland that he had thought lost.

---

Alphinaud gulped down the nervous energy that was welling up inside him. He had been stationed in the area surounding Eulmore for the last three months and had made his way back to the Crystarium for supplies and to apraise the situation in Kholusia with the exarch and the captain of the Crystarium Guard.

The Crystarium gave him memories of Sharlayan, and not particlaruly pleasent ones at that.

Of course, the two city states couldn't be any diffrent. As far as he- and the other scions who had been wisked away to The First- could tell, The Crystarium's only mission was one to save what little life was left on the light-blighted star-reflection. Sharlayan was more…

Alphinaud was caught up in his own thinking for a moment as the word came to him.

… Egocentric.

"Master Leveilleur."

He turned to see the captain of the Crystarium Guard, Lyna.

"Oh, Oh good afternoon. Captain." He said, minding his mannors. "Is everything alright?"

"Perfectly fine." Lyna said, matter of factly. "The Exarch is waiting for you in the Ocular. I am on my way to report to him as well." she said, basically telling Alphinaud that she was walking with him.

Walking past the barrier with the Viis by his side, Alphinaud felt a little short, by comparaison. He also didn't quite know how to strike up conversation with the woman. She was very matter-of-fact about everything. Even more so than the average citizen for the first, for whom a swift and painful death- to say nothing of the horiffic unlife in the form of a sin eater- was all but garanteed.

The walk to the Ocular was a quiet one. Nether side quite willing to talk to the other. For his part, Alphinaud wondered what the captain had to make of these bizzare visitors from whence the Exarch came.

The guard at the door of the Ocular welcomed the two through and opened the door.

And saw the Exarch colapsed on the floor, the sounds of crackling crystal poping from his huddled form.

Without thinking, the elezan boy rushed towards the exach with his carbuncle already summoned, ready to augment his healing artes.

"No, Stop!" Lyna cried out, pushing Alphinaud aside and runing towards the Exarch, pulling out a viel of liquid from her sachual and bending over to force it into the Exarch's mouth.

Alphinaud could only watch as the Exarch shouted out in pain before it subsided and he colapsed into slumber. He culdn't help but notice the inside of the Exarch's hood in the confusion.

Ears. Mi'quote ears.

After the moment had passed, Alphinaud offered to help the captain take the Exarch to his quarters, which was rebuffed, all be it with gratitiude, as she took the Exarch into her arms like a parent holding a child, and walked out of the Ocular.

As he watched the sight. Gears began to turn in Alphinaud's head.

= = =

Alphinaud waited outside the door of the Exarch's quarters, one of hundreds in the apartment building on the far side of the Crystarium's grounds. He pet his carbuncle as he waited for the captain to be finished with the Exarch.

The door opened. Lyna walked out and saw the Elezen sitting on the ground.

She sighed. "The Exarch wishes to speak to you. In private."

With that he stood up and thanked Lyna, who merely waved him off as she walked away, and walked into the Exarch's quarters.

It was the same as all the other rooms in the residential area of the Crystarium, a studio aprtment with a living area and an area for sleeping and clothing. The exarch lied on top of the bed, the crystaling sores that covered his body far more obvious due to his nightclothes.

The Exarch look up with a smile. "Oh, Master Alphinaud."

Alphinaud didn't share the same joyous look as he walked to the chair that had been placed to the side of the Exarch's bed and sat down.

"You're suffering from crystal stasis." he stated planely. "The fatal state of aetheric shock that slowly petrifies the aflicted. The crystaliation happens as a result of the atheric imbalance caused by prolonged exposure to the Crystal Tower and subsiquent currouption of one's reserve of aether. One of the more intresting complications that sufferers of crystal statis is the fact that it insidiously hijacks the body's recovery system to spread. This means that attempting to heal the aflicted with conventional recovery artes will only make things worse."

The Exarch looked at the elezan with concern.

"That is the basic summation of some of the research a colleague of mine wrote on the Crystal Tower. It is a bitter irony that he never got to see his research proven true. He sealed himself inside the tower to prevent it from being abused after a voidsent of great and terrible power nearly breached through onto our star with it ."

"That… That is unfortuante." The Exarch said, biting his lip.

"The episode was a rough one for the Warrior of Light. Another friend she lost in a chaos that very nearly consumed her. It is a tale I take no pleasure in ensureing my part in it is not embelished." Alphinaud said, his eyes closed.

The Exarch said nothing.

"Exarch, I will be forthright. And if I'm wrong in my assumptions about your identity then I can only appologise. But when you do summon her to the first, the warrior of light will play along..."

He gave the Exarch a cutting look.

"...But Yujo is 'not' going be ignorant. I understand you have your reasons for keeping your identity secret, but- and I say this with complete sincerity- it will only serve to hurt the both of you to keep the charade for any longer than is entirely nessasary."

The Exarch looked down at his body and closed his eyes. His hood deflated slightly.

He sighed. "I understand, Master Leveilleur, and I will take it under advisement."

Alphinaud stood up. "I understnad that this is not the time to talk of matters in Kolusia. I will take care of my business first and when you've recovered enough, I will give my report in full."

The exarch smiled. "I look foreward to it."

With that, the Scion gave his excuses and left the Exarch to his thoguhts as he looked at his crystalised hand.

He could feel the crystal as it very, very slowly took more of his body.

"Not yet. I have waited too long for my body to fail now… I endured it for this long. I can do so for a little longer."

[marshyelmint]

A bit of a personal commentary of the recent stuff involving a dude that payed about $50,000 for what appears to be a Self shipping video

I've heard many things of this whole stuff, but I'm gonna add i don't know all of the sides on here but I just really wanna say something about the whole situation, even if I'm just someone who is barely known on the internet and world...

Why all the criticism and hate?

Yeah, I know the dude is known from the animated rap battles, and it may be a bit "bizzare" to now know he likes a fictional character so much he paid almost (exactly or even more, not 100% sure about this info) for a music video with him and this character, And....

I say good for him honestly

I just, I don't understand all the criticism and hate he's been getting?

Yeah sure, he was someone that maybe we wouldn't think he would like this character on specific, or anyone to pay "so much money" for a vid, but at the end of the day he's still a human

And the most important thing here, he's not harming no one

which I want to clarify I'm only "defending" him because I have not heard any information of any harm towards anyone being done in this situation so far, and I'm pretty sure he hasn't

He just likes a character, AND it's his money at the end of the day

He didn't do it because he wanted to cause cringe or attack the creator of the character

He did it because, he simply likes a lot the character, probably liked the song to, and wanted to see these two thing together, which is good! The song ain't attacking anyone, the animation ain't hurting no one, not even him is like "HEY LOOOK, I PAYED FOR THIS!1!1!!1!"

It's a personal thing, that was filtered accidentally, and I think y'all should leave him alone

I too have my own stuff that is personal, and sure that if it got public I would get my good amount of mocking and hate comments, BUT IT'S A PERSONAL THING!

It's not meant to satisfy anyone or anything, other than make me happy

I feel he's the same

And I have seen the memes of

"OHhhHhh wHaT wOulD YouU WANntTt iF you Had 50K!??!?

A video of your character and you or (any other stuff than that)"

I'm gonna say it

Yeah, if I had 50k I would definitely want my own video with my fav character

You want a plane? Or any other thing? Well Kay!! You like that, but I don't, and that's fine

You don't have to rub it on my face that you like it, I myself ain't doing that

Maybe to me the fact that YOU want a plane is silly

But it's your thing, and I'm not gonna judge you for that yk? So don't do that either to me

Now, with the the animation on itself, I heard it has various traced frames from the Hazbin hotel pilot, well, I'm not gonna defend that, but you keep the dude away from that

I don't think he knew or was like "ah yesss, trace the original animationnnn", so you keep him out of that

And tbh, if it was a personal animation, like, there's no profit taken from that, it may have been more helpful to trace that rather than have a Charlie that just looks wonky, plus, again, it wasn't meant to be something public

Second....

"OMGGGG!!?!? WHY 50,000KKKK?!!?!?!?? THAT'S LIKE SO EXPENSIVEEEEE"

Yeah, as a semi animator myself, Animation takes time, it's work

And seeing the whole animation, even just a few seconds, the animation does have his effort put into it, it has characters, colored, a background which also moves, and overall it's goodly cleaned!

The dude also said it! It was made by a whole team, not just one person

Look at it like this, you are part of the team, maybe there are like.... 8 on the team, you do the backgrounds, and all of that takes your time, maybe you even sleep late for it, and all you get payed after all that effort and nights of working is 20$ dollars

You barely can buy something with that, maybe a carton of milk, the prices and economy aren't really friendly these days

Yeah, that doesn't really sound fair does it?

If anything I would praise the guy for paying all the amount that was asked for what he wanted, because some people on comparison.... Oh boy

And third, many say that this is out of character for Charlie, that she has a girlfriend and stuff like that

Yeah, says the same person that sexualizes alastor even despite the fact that he's canonically aroace, and yeah, I'm personally a whole fanatic of Charlie and Vaggie, but if someone likes Charlie and wants to ship himself with it I'm okay with that, he ain't doing it because he wants to make me mad or harm me, he just liked the character a lot

Also, when you like someone, yeah, you may accidentally make them differently than what they are in your head, and that applies even on real life relationships

So yeah, that was my personal humble opinion on the situation

Just.... Leave the guy alone

Put it like an ice cream

He wanted and ice cream, maybe cheese ice cream (yeah, that exists and it's fucking delicious), but he did it on private exactly because he knew people don't exactly think and just start attacking and mocking anything that may be unusual, and he just didn't want to deal with all that

But then someone saw it, took a picture of him eating his ice cream happily, and showed it to everyone, and that's how all the fire started

I think all of this situation is silly really

It just reminds me that there are many people that just do that for laughs or because on their head it's a whole war if someone thinks different than them, and then they are all worried and confused why the person they bullied is now either mad, or became bad

Just let him be

I can't believe even today we are still dealing with shit like this

[happy-hokkyokugitsune]

Hey happy its not p, been a minute sorry

That sucks about your fam not being able to show your pride, if it were me id be stealing that mans flag in the middle if the night lol how about i distract you with some qs

Whats a random hq character you think Tendou would be friends with and do you think timeskip tendou will grow his hair longer?

Hey not p! I was debating on calling you Peanut or just using this emoji 🥜 because you're not p- p not- get it- heh might be bad but I don't really care if people think so 😂

And you don't have to be sorry about length of time between talking! ☀️💛 People got lives y'know. Besides, I have time blindness.

Tbf we are used to not showing our pride, sad but true, can't wait till we can gtfo of this town. But thank you so much and one day if that flag is stolen I'll know it was you! 😂💛

OoOo I love distractions, let's see

1. Kyoutani (pretty random right!?)

At first, Kyoutani finds Tendou off-putting. Until he realizes he doesn't need to speak for the guy to understand and communicate with him. It's a bit bizzare as he's not used to people seeing the person under his shell. But I think Kyoutani would find it refreshing. Tendou would never stifle Kyoutani's personality either and I think Kyoutani would find Tendou's theatrics and antagonistic behavior a bit funny when directed at someone else.

Tendou on the other hand is cool with being friends with anyone. But knowing Kyoutani's nickname "mad dog" reminds him of his nickname "monster" and he instantly want's to befriend him and learn the guy past the name. And ofc Kyoutani's silent and intense personality doesn't bother him, his bestie is Ushijima after all.

Tendou would also be a relentless wingman and create little trope moments between Kyoutani and Yahaba.

His favorite one is "locked in a room together." He's trying to find the best way to implement a "there was only one bed" situation. But he has yet to be successful as Kyoutani has no problem sleeping on the floor.

Kyoutani is not amused, but he is secretly grateful. Tendou would stop of course, but he can see Kyoutani is grateful and keeps on doing it.

Yahaba is just confused af.

2. My headcanon is that he had an accident involving caramel while coming up with a new recipe, and instead of going through the whole rigmarole of removing it, he just shaved all his hair off.

So yes, I think he does grow it back, but not as long as in highschool. He doesn't like it getting into his eyes at work. Y'know?

Thank you for the questions! It did actually distract me ☀️💛🥜

[atldiscourse]

"wrote songs about getting groomed by a married woman at 17" WHAT. I am missing something here what the FUCK. Jesus christ that explains way more than I was expecting it to. Oh man that puts way too much into perspective.

Also I didn't know he slept with any fans between 2020-22, that also makes some songs make sense. Maybe in some ways this album is supposed to be his "hey lisa sorry i cheated but like. i'm promising in a song basically publicly that i won't soooooo pwetty pwease??" Originally I took that as being a Jack lyric because he's most known for sleeping around lmao. Then again, look where that got him...

wbk coffeeshop soundtrack is abt his relationship w a married woman (allegedly his teacher but that’s never been proven) and … idk when ur a young fan that just sorta comes across like omg awg toyboy ! ladies man ! mature beyond his years !! (well at least to 2012 me, it did)

but thinking objectively about the circumstances under which awg wrote that song… oof. like it’s confirmed that it’s abt an older married woman with whom he had an affair when he was underage. which must be incredibly incredibly weird to come to terms with as you grow up and move past that young “ahhhh that’s insane” type of youthful response to a “WTF that’s INSANE” mid-20s response.

i feel really bad that he had that responsibility on his shoulders as a literal CHILD? and wrote a song about it to work thru his experience that ppl still demand he plays now as a mid-30 y/o man? so fucking weird. like SO fucking weird. ppl shld prob talk abt how bizzare this is whole situation was

[ugh154628]

Assault accusations from 2019 through 2022 (while I was dating Sam) - Part 1 - Video 1

So, I'm skipping ahead in the story.

It's time to delve into the original smear campaign in which "Cece" began accusing "Ricky" that he sexually assaulting her, whilst painting me as a r*pe apologist for dating him across social media.

"Ricky" (Sam) showed me her youtube in 2019. He was also the one who showed me the videos in which she began accusing him of these things. We later decided to screen record these in the event that she attempted to press charges on him for assault, because she was screaming it across several social media platforms, her stories between her videos and posts had fallacies, consistently changed, etc. We planned to use them for our defense in court to prove she was being dishonest if it ever happened. These were also used for defense on social media to explain part of my upset at her continuously harassing us, trying to "cancel" me for dating "Ricky" (Sam).

The first 30 seconds is a significant preview that will repeat again in the actual order of the video. You will hear her say my name, as well as "Ricky"'s real name, Sam, proving that her assault accusation was directed toward him.

June 13, 2021:

"The guy that stuck his d**k in me while I was sleeping on numerous occasions and guilted me into sex proceeded to date one of my best friends behind my back--"

Past Context - 2019 while I was dating "Ricky"(Sam) - relevant to that quote from the video ("guilted me into sex", "date one of my best friends"):

Present context - 2024, "Cece" dating Sam again - just to put some emphasis on the pure insanity of this situation

Essentially saying that I took her boyfriend away from her, AND blaming ME for her accusing him of r*pe:

Other general context - posts by "Cece" 2019-2022, while I was still dating Sam, that will likely repeat in other posts (there will be more than this too):

So, when I was dating "Ricky" (Sam), she apparently hated him, she wasn't jealous at all, he was a r*pist and I was dAtiNg hEr aBuSeR, and we BOTH "harassed" her for "no reason". Because we "tHoUgHt iT wAs FuNnY" apparently.

And it's just "sO biZzArE" that a couple would be angry at a girl smearing them with assault accusations across social social media with cancel culture being a thing.

Religiously posted or commented all over social media for years that he r*ped her and "Amber is dating my r*pist/abuser", in an attempt to "cancel" us for YEARS. Maybe, I was only trying to combat that lie she was spreading. Maybe, I was fucking upset about someone telling horrible lies like this about me and my boyfriend at the time, and not only that, threatening to harm me before that. This right here is a huge art to why I was pissed off, why I'm STILL pissed off, and it was a big reason why I felt forced to RESPOND to her posts back then, aside from the initial threatening behavior, doxxing, and so forth. It was a serious accusation that required damage control. And then, they get back together and expect me to just act like that's fine, pretend none of that happened, and I'm "crazy" for being upset and I'm just "jealous"? After ALL of that.

AND she didn't start making the "he put his d**k in me while I was sleeping" claim UNTIL I exposed the vandalism on my car, doxxing, and threatening posts she was making in the background on Tumblr. I call that a major deflection tactic, as well as her trying to justify harassing us.

But low and behold when I dump him, she immediately goes after him, starts dating him again, claims that I "took" him from her, he is and always was the best boyfriend in the world, posts that IM the abusive piece of shit multiple times a day every day, he didn't do aNyThInG to her, and everything that happened between them was MY fault.

You know what's really biZzArE? To post about wanting another girl dead to essentially take their boyfriend from them, exploit their nude photos, continously post things about wanting them harmed or dead after that, start calling their boyfriend a r*pist/abuser JUST to claim said girl you're harassing is a r*pe/abuse apologist to the public, try to harm their reputation on the daily, gaslight the ever living fuck out of them, deny the reality of their upset, continue harassing them for years after that, and then, flip the script entirely and harass them with the excuse that was actually YOUR reality back then ("jealous ex") TO this day.

Nah dude, this is fucked.

It's about to get ugly.

[ehud1564]

I made a post last night about how Michelle being the sleep princes is bizzare and unreasonable. With how little focus the sleep princes recieved despite her importance, it was essential that the sleep princes would be a character we know well. And I pointed to sevreal other better candidates for the sleep princes.

But really. The actual solution to that would be to give more focus to the sleep princes. Give her a scene introducing herself, explaining how she got into this situation and what lead her to be a part of this. It would give her so much more agency. That is by far the better solution.

It kinda helps confirm that yes, this is actually Michelle. This can explain why Gammon and Gallerian thought this would work. And all sorts of thing.

The "Not Eve" episode already has barely anything to do with Eve or Michelle. Giving Michelle an actual scene as a part of it would make sense.

I feel like something of this sort is absolutely necessary.

[nananananaratking]

Here's a story

The Jewelry store

"do you want diamonds, or cubic zirconia." The guy in the suit and fresh clean hair looks down on me. I try to fix my hair and I take off my gloves. I'm hoping he cannot see the lose threads and the layer of grease on my brow. I need to visit the thrift shop after this incounter. "I was wondering if you are hiring. "My name is Alison. I got a resume here" (it has wrinkled in the rain.) "I can work weekends and all hours" I know he isn't interested. It's not like I purposely dressed poor to go job searching. My clothes are only a week old from the second hand store. But like my entire personality, Everywhere I show up I am embarrassing. I should of put makeup on. I should of got a haircut. I didn't think. I thought I looked nice enough to walk into the jewelry shop. I just hope im standing right and speaking with respect to the man behind the counter. "my manager is not in right now but I'll take your resume." The situation has ended.

I walk across towards the end of the mall. The mixture of people contain children and old folks, some homeless and security guards. I smile at the security guards so they know I'm not a thief. I walk outside. Its not raining anymore, there is a double rainbow. I want to follow it. I want to find enough gold for my family. But nothing is that simple. There would be no gold. Just ruined sneakers from climbing mountains. I cannot afford to ruin my sneakers. Time to catch the bus. I barely make it in time but I cannot hitchhike today. Not enough energy.

I have arrived at home. Taken a shower and placed myself in a satin nighty. I have washed my face and brushed my hair. I feel happy. My husband is walking the dog. My cat (Diana) is curled in my lap. I have fed the fish and refilled the bird feeders. I begin to read a book my mother recommended last week. I don't necessarily care for the book but I intend to make her happy. Shes been in the hospital for 6 months (dialysis). I start to dose off.

"Woof woof" Hank licks my face. I can almost feel a border collie hair ball fall on me. So fluffy and warm he curls into my lap scaring Diana away. "I love and missed you so much" warm words trail off from Silvester. Its hard to focus when I'm fast asleep. I feel blankets being toppled onto me with little snuggles in between. I have been absolutely useless today and here I am being coddled by my family.

I move over the coffee cups on the messy bedside table too look at the clock. Its 3:37 am and I have heard a knock. I wonder if my mother has been released unexpectedly or if a neighbor is upset with me. I open the door, to my surprise it's the man from the jewelry store. My first thought is he thinks I stole something. I begin to get my story straight and align my sentences when he tells me with the biggest smile on his face that he has a surprise. "Okay what is it" I am extremely excited. My first thought is 'wow I've actually been hired' he must need me for this mornings shift. "I found a hole behind the jewelry shop, it's sparkly. And i think you might want to go look at it with me. Wouldn't that be fun." The out of his mind man waves jazz hands at me but he doesn't seem intoxicated. "Um okay" glowing portal, sparkles I'm not one to be skeptical of the situation. But it is a bizzare house visit at 3:37 am.

I get dressed and I kiss my husband. Give him a big squeeze. "I'm off on an adventure I will be home soon I love you." I hardly ask permission as he barely moves grumbles and goes back to sleep. I sit in the man's car, questions begin flowing in my brain. "What is your name?" "Darrel, I remember your name being Alison. Okay I know this is strange but I find you trustworthy. So please entertain this whole sparkly gate thing just for the car ride." Darrel does the jazz hands when he mentions the sparkles again. And I begin to wonder if he was also watching a jazz performance tonight when he imagined a sparkly portal. But I have never been to skeptical of magic and very few and far between have called me trustworthy. The car ride is about 12 minutes long and does not give much time for more questions. Other than quick discussion of current events and, a tiny bit of road rage at the two red lights along the way. We have arrived at the mall. It is 3:58 am.

Luckily instead of the security guards wondering the next morning why Darrel took a strange woman through the mall at 4 am, we go through the back door that leads right into the jewelry shop. "Come with me and then you'll believe me" Darrel is ecstatic and I follow him. He moves a few boxes. I can only imagine have thousands of dollars worth of jewelry inside. Low and behold there is indeed a sparkly hole in the wall. I can see why he said sparkly and not glowing because its not glowing. It is like diamonds gleaming out of the wall like a mine. It's not neon at all or producing any light other then when Darrel shines his flashlight on it. "Is it a mine?" I am completely in shock. The shop could be very rich. And I'm trusted with the information. "No it isn't, it's magic" Darrel seems to use Jazz hands a lot. "Here touch it" he grabs me and drags me over rather forcefully but with excitement and not aggression. "Okay, okay ill touch it" I laugh I need to be a tad skeptical to protect my integrity at this point. I touch the sparkles and my hand goes straight through them. "Just like the movies" I am astonished. "Lets climb through" Darrel jumps up with joy. "Are you sure." Now I'm worried. "It could be dangerous" I step back from Darrel, a tad bit rude. "We should throw something through it attached to a string" Darrel grabs a diamond (with no band) from the back. I'm not sure how much money he's going to risk on it but I do not ask. He attaches the diamond to a box cord with a splotch of ring glue and throws it through the sparkles.

Darrel pulls the diamond back. "I was right" I am extremely disappointed to see the diamond is now crushed into what someone can only call a marble. "So it's not safe" Darrel begins to cry. "Hold on the Cord was fine and our hands are fine something is up." I try to put the puzzle pieces together. "Do you have anything back here that is not a mineral or rock." "There's minerals in our hands and this cord" Darrel points out. "anything cheap to test." I just now realize how expensive that diamond was. "We should test the cubic zirconia. He is way ahead of me in clues and i begin to yawn.

Darrel pulls out a cubic zirconia in a silver band and splotches glue onto the cord. He tosses the ring through the gateway. He pulls back a perfect ring. I feel relieved no more money is damaged. "Lets go through" jazz hands return, I am not so convinced. I gester him to go first. "Wait remove your diamonds" I begin to chuckle and take off my blue agate wedding ring in a brass band just incase. Its lovely but what we could afford. He removes about 3 rings 2 bracelets and a necklace. I try not to envy but damn.

He walks through then I follow and what we see is astounding. Its the most beautiful site you could ever see. Its so bright in front of our eyes, is a diamond lake. Darrel walks onto it. Hes fine but oh my god why would he attempt. Its solid and he gestures me to join him. I follow him I am a Poor woman Id be stupid not to try my luck. I put my hands on the diamonds to try to remove some but it is frozen solid.

"Lets keep going" Darrel is more determined than I am. It is early and I wish I was home with Silvester. I do not think Darrel fancies me or my gender. So I do not worry about the journey as a betrayal. We have walked for 10 whole minutes. It must be almost 5 now. From the discussions in the shop. The experiments and journey. We must have killed 35-45 minutes time. At the end of the lake, there is a grass hill. Grass is odd in a diamond world. "We gotta test it Darrel" I pull him back with all my might so he doesn't get hurt. "Test with what. Diamonds crush diamonds in our world what would grass do." Darrel is upset.

"Throw your keys or something" I try to regain control of the situation for the safety of the both of us. "My keys have a diamond in each of them, I left them at the shop. You throw something." My new friend is thoroughly annoyed at me at this point. I should be able to trust grass but I just cant risk it.

I throw my keys onto the grass. Nothing happens. "Do you have anything else" Darrel has come around to see my point of view of the situation. "I have my wallet." I wasnt super excited to throw away my money and my family photos and and my grandpas wallet. But I needed to know. I throw my wallet and the grass is still safe. Up ahead a bird flies.

"Look at that bird" I point up at a weird dove. He has four wings. I do not think we are on earth anymore.

We step onto the grass. We are okay we see a lot more birds. All very beautiful. None with more or less than four wings. Suddenly something crawls across my feet. I look down its an opossum. At this point I'm weirded out and amazed i reach down and grab the possum. "What are you doing?" Darrel is confused at my actions. "Look 6 paws, why?" Darrel looks around for any hints or clues "is there a sun here" he rubs his chin. "I dont see one but its sunny" just as perplexed I mirror his hand-to-chin action. "Lets keep going" he needs answers. By this point I want to return home.

The grass was long. We saw lots of creatures with unusual number of limbs. But we had finally reached the end of the grass. At the end of the grass their was a mountain. "No more test we are climbing it" Darrel is tired and sweating, yet still determined. "Okay I trust you" remember Darrel finding myself trustworthy I decide to put some faith forward.

We begin the journey up a seemingly normal rocky mountain. It isn't extremely high more like a big hill. "We should of brought water" Darrel isn't jazzing no more but still eager. We couldn't possibly complain about the once in a life time journey. Other than it's early in the morning. We weren't going to be rich off the diamonds, and we haven't got any answers.

We climb for about 40 minutes. I begin to wonder if Silvester has woken up to take hank outside. I wonder if he is prepared for his carpenter test. I wonder if he is still in bed to get ten more minutes. We reach a cave.

This must be it. Darrel gasp for air. "Well let's do this" I need answers at this point. We begin walking through the cave. It has fire torches along the walls already lit. You'd expect cave paintings, but there isn't any. You'd expect wildlife. But just a few 4 winged birds and 6 legged chipmunks. I did see a two tailed lizard at the entrance, but other than a few creatures the cave seems pretty empty.

"Maybe this ends in the best hotsprings ever" Darrel laughs. But it ends at a door. "This is man made" I feel along the creaky wood. "A possum could not make this" I giggle and Darrel gives me a hug. I don't understand why he hugged me but It could be one of two things. The journey we've been on has made us close friends, or we might be running into answers at this very moment. "Should we knock". I feel a ton of hope at this moment. We knock. An average clean shaven man, with dark blue eyes, and wavy red hair. Answers the door. "Hello come in, come in" He seems unfazed.

"Where are we" Darrel asks first. "In Trasirda, my home, I'm the only one who lives in this land. And it ends at my house. I don't know how my paradise bled into your world, or how anyone would of found me. You see I won a lottery on my home planet Daxel in Galaxy 497s. My prize was a land I wanted. I chose all the creatures from Daxel, but none of the people. A garden as long as the eye can see. If you had walked the width, you would of never found me. A cave to live in, and read as many tall tales from every single planet. A lake of solid diamond and a mountain to pirch on. Look at this" the man had given us a few answers and pulled out a book. "I can turn this book into anything ive ever wanted to read from any world." The man showed us a few different books, Narnia from our land, Blobstock from his. A few others. Quite fascinating the hermit was. "Well you've traveled this long and I have won the lottery. Please take a couple diamonds on your way out but do not tell anyone about this. Or I'll be flooded with visitors. "The diamond's are frozen" Darrel raised his hand as if he had just been schooled. "Not on the way back" the gingered man began to laugh hysterically as we waved goodbye running down the hill.

Eagerly chasing the diamonds.

We got back to the lake in an hour and a halfs time. And the man was right the diamonds were free for the taking. We shuffled a few handfuls into our pockets as we walked toward the exit. "We're rich, we're rich" Darrel and I sang boasting until we got to the hole to our land. We walked through the portal. Our diamonds still intact. But the gateway had closed behind us. Darrel pushed and pushed trying to make the gate reopen. I put my hand on his shoulder. "All is done, the mans at peace and so are we. Nothing could be worse then if we turn this into greed." I tried reassuring that we had taken enough and had an amazing journey on its own.

It was time to go home. It was 8:12 am and i needed to fill Silvester in on what had happened. Tell him we'd be rich. When I had arrived home he was still asleep in our bed. Hank had definitely gone for a walk tho because there was no puddles and Diana had been fed. The fish were my job. Silvester had about 45 minutes to get to his carpenter exam. My mum had left me 3 voicemails. She had informed me she was doing very well and wanted to hear how i was enjoying the book. I see the morning bird's at the feeders each with two wings (which is a relief) I sat in silence for about ten minutes. Knowing I was about to inform the whole family, that the poverty was over.

[banditbabes]

going to vent a bit sorry also im saying my friend didnt do against my will he kept asking if im okay through it a lot! got wasted last night and my friend and i got this weird inmacy thing going on everytime were drunk since like october 2022 i usually dont remember almost anything but its like suff him telling me im pretty or trying to kiss me and we sleep cuddling in the same bed but i actually can quite remember last night this time and i know he kissed me and also i was topless like then not even a bra only in panties i know he always asked me if he can do that thing and i always told him i dont care i honestly meant it i didnt care at all it was so bizzare there was the cloudy with a chance of meatballs movie playing in the background when he tried to kiss me for the first time i couldn't even kiss him back bc i couldn't take that seriously in such situation he kept being all kissy and touchy the whole night he even wanted to touch me under my panties which i was idc it just doesn't do anything to me i dont feel excited at all and i made him to summon bloody mary with me and called some random number we found in the newspaper from his phone at 3 am i was in a hyper mood and he turned all these messing around silly suff i did into attempts to touch me i just quite didnt care if that makes him happy it didn't bother me but it didn't really make me want it or enjoy it

[randy-jade-4ever]

Yeah, it's a bizzare situation, can't blame you for not wanting to know what even happened.

Anyway how has ur sleep been?

It was... something. I dreamt I was back at the ticket booth but the funfair was the path to enlightenment or something from a hellish version of Dialtown.

Would be funny if that was the case though. Dialtown would be more like a Dietown.

[aashagalaxy]

I had quite a bizzare dream or occurrence this morning. I can lucid dream sometimes and that means I get trapped in a false awakening in my sleep. (This happens rarely but I remember them clearly.)

I had one today. The dream was weird, I can't remember it now. Kinda trapped and felt like in a loop. I remember being stressed in my dream. I was in my house in that dream. Then, I went to my room (in my dream) and a thought slip through my mind. That all of this will end in a while and that it will end when I get out of the room.

Just after the though ended, my brother knocked my door and peeked inside, asking me to come to the living room. I had another surpise there. Everyone was there. My deceased father on the sofa, my mother with my missing/deceased cat on her lap on the floor and my brother behind me. I had to take a moment to process what I am seeing. Then I woke up. I only remember that part of my dream from today.

I woke up and felt my "the" deceased cat kneading (kneading flour/cookies) on my bed behind me. He loves to do that. The thing is this "kneading" situation had happened twice and both where I would wake up from a quite bad dream. I felt him. But now, i'm kinda doubting myself whether it is true. Whether it is just a fragment of my lucid dream, muscle memory or maybe my heartbeat.

What would it be?

[rowingupstream]

I have really REALLY bad insomnia. Like, 3 hours a night is my normal. Sometimes it is less. Breathing, headaches, sleep scares me? whatever I don't know. Not too long ago I went two weeks with something like thirteen hours sleep total. I normally function pretty well anyhow but that one knocked me down totally. But that is rare. Usually I'm fine. Groceries get bought and cooked, bills get paid, laundry gets done...I'm just a bit slow to think about things, and I write a lot of lists.

But I can't maintain relationships because stuff that is unexpected throws me so bad I can't track conversations and stuff. Business conversations or structured social situations I'm fine and people even think I'm friendly and outgoing. But once people start talking about personal stuff and I have to actually think and make non-rote responses....I literally miss at least a third of the words people say because I'm trying to parse whst the first few words mean. I say stupid and rude things because I'm just trying to keep the conversation going without admitting I have no idea what they said. I forget things people told me the day before; even important things. I think i just talked to someone a day or two ago but it turns out it's been three weeks and they are pissed I didn't follow up. Work stuff I can mainly do because it is scheduled and predictable. But human lives are messy.

For the most part I just never try to make friends and push people away if they start to get close. There are a tiny handful of people I try to actually be a person for because they are important to me, but sometimes I fuck up so badly they give up on me too. And I don't blame them at all because I'm not contributing anything worthwhile to their life.

Yesterday I met someone with some severe phobias that result in bizzare actions. She just states that when she meets people. "Hi this is me. If you know me long enough then at some point I will probably do this and yes it is wierd I'm sorry." I wish I was that brave. I wish I knew my own body well enough that I could even guess at what stupid things I will do to give warning. That I could figure out how to put any of it into words. That I was brave enough to sit down with a pencil and paper and figure myself out instead of running from even thinking about it.

[sweetwolfcupcake]

They leave with the bedroom door locked, windows shut, and the room quiet.

Bizzarely enough, their absence bothers you. A strange silence hangs heavy in the air. You realise it eventually that it is the aftermath of the rollercoaster day.

In the silence, you finally break. Sobs break out with tears and snoot. You are really in a mess that is deep enough to have your life on the rocks, finely balanced by the intention of the two men who simply plucked you out of your life, your potential safety net and...That is tge scary part-- you are still unsure of their intentions.

You know that the smartest thing you can do is to adapt to the situation, but with the great powerr imbalance and unpredictable circumstances, every breath seems to be a nearing step towards death. You are not an optimist - never were - you cannot say that you are absolutely in love with your life, but you want to live. Your life before the mess was no fairytake-- an average life of an average girl, average problems that weighed you down. Now, when you think of it, you might even really fall in love with your average monotonous life only if you manage to somehow get out of the situation.

You try the windows and doors, although you know in your heart that they're no amateurs. They are seasoned professionals-- they took on Bradford with ease, the same Bradford you have seen handling four people with ease.

Bradford...

He is yiyr last hope. You are convinced that sooner or later, you will go crazy here. Who finds their captives attractive?

Embarrassed, you shut your eyes and sigh. You still feel pretty fuzzy, and the bed indeed is comfortable. With a defeated walk back to the bed, you slip under the covers, sleep is your only escape route for now.

@johnwickb1tsch and @treedaddymcpuffpuff , I guess I'm making it angsty. I couldn't think of anything else. I wanted to explore the emotions here. Sorry.

Tex Johnson x Reader x John Wick round robin part 2 wip

Let's go, girls... @treedaddymcpuffpuff @sweetwolfcupcake 😈😈

Readers: this is our working doc for part 2. If you're new here, see Part 1, and warning, dead doves abound here.

---------------------------------------------------

As it turns out, faking your death involves taking some very gnarly photos with copious amounts of blood spread about. They will be released to the dark web, as well as the Underground network. John and Tex will get paid for a job well done. The FBI will receive the intelligence in due time, mixed with finding your blood and hair and skin at the scene. And once they off Dmitri, the man you witnessed killing the owner of the restaurant you used to work at, there will be no one left to care but Agent Bradford.

If he survives his wounds.

John and Tex are still perplexed about that one. He must be a tough bastard, but getting shot up even with a vest on would slow anyone down. Not to mention his blown out knee…

When next you wake you know you’re in a different location, even through your blindfold. Your hands are bound again, this time over your head. It feels like you’re laying on a soft surface, a mattress, and not a cheap one. You debate the merits of pretending to still be knocked out, or screaming your head off for help, when you hear, “Looks like sleepin’ beauty’s awake.”

From your other side there is silence, but you feel gentle fingers touching a lock of your hair. It sends a forbidden trill of desire through you, straight to your loins, and for the umpteenth time you wonder what exactly is wrong with you that you don’t 100 percent hate this the way you should.   

Fuck.

“Please let me go.” Your words are raspy; your throat is dry as a desert. How long have you been out?

“We have to talk about that,” says Tex. “See, there’s a whole lot gonna be ridin’ on you.” You can just hear his shit-eating grin for his double-entendre.  

“You’re a pig.”

“Aww, don’t be shy, darlin’. What did you think we were goin; to get up to when you got in my car? Playin’ pinochle? You wanted me, and I reckon’ that hasn’t changed.” You feel a rough hand sliding up your thigh that must belong to him. You try to buck him off, and find your legs aren’t bound. You try to kick towards the sound of his voice, but your limbs are heavy and slow, and he catches your ankle.

“Boy howdy, someone’s flexible!”

He has you in an iron grip, and you give a frustrated scream.

“Don’t hurt her,” says the other one, in that quietly forbidding tone.

“Was I supposed to let her kick my head off?”

“Fine by me.”

Tex snorts in response, squeezing your leg in his big hand, just to give you a taste. You feel your bones creak beneath his grip.

Your turn! @treedaddymcpuffpuff @sweetwolfcupcake 😘😘

[fireheartbuzzard]

my dream

day one: i just realized i’m desperately in love with you

author’s note: hi everyone!! this is my very first rowaelin fanfic, so i’m sorry if it’s bad lol. i’m also sorry that it wasn’t posted on time. my senior year of high school started at the beginning of september so everything was very hectic and crazy around that time, still is with college applications coming up, but i was able to finish this story. for all the other prompts, i either have an outline/idea for it or i’ve started writing something already. i know it’s late, but bear with me as i try to balance high school and everything else. i’ll add a header photo later, i think. idk. i’m new to this 😭

content warning: slight angst, lots of repeated words/phrases (sorry lol)

word count: 4.3k

~

Rowan’s eyes drooped as he walked into his home after a long day of work, desperately needing a nap on his lumpy couch. He set out to make some coffee for later tonight, knowing that he’d have to stay up again to finish another project for his summer class.

Rowan probably shouldn’t have procrastinated his assignment in order to spend time with Aelin at the carnival earlier this week, but he’d rather that than have Aelin spend time alone with Chaol. Just the thought of his name made Rowan scoff.

After being friends for a couple of months, Chaol had recently become Aelin’s new summer fling. Rowan always knew he’d had ulterior motives, but when the idea was brought up to Aelin, she’d laughed and said, “If anyone here had ulterior motives, it’d be me.” Rowan had no clue as to what Aelin was talking about, but she’d insisted that it was only a one-time thing and so far, had been determined to keep a buffer between them, which meant that Rowan had to accompany them on every single “date.”

Despite grumbling the whole time to Aelin at the carnival, Rowan had to admit feeling satisfaction after shoving the ice cream into Chaol’s face in order to prevent him from kissing Aelin. While Aelin looked amused during the whole ordeal, Chaol looked the exact opposite with a scrunched up mouth and furrowed brows. Rowan thought he looked constipated.

Maybe, he was. Rowan shook his head, no no, he was definitely angry.

Rowan smiled to himself as he poured boiling water into the coffee strainer over his mug. Letting it sit when he finished, he walked over to his couch and laid down, allowing his body to rest after hours of exhaustion. His eyes drifted closed as he thought back to Aelin’s situation with Chaol.

Rowan didn’t understand why Aelin wouldn’t just break up with him if she didn’t like him at all. Hell, he doesn’t even understand the reason why she does half the things she does, her mind truly baffles him. He wouldn’t trade her for the universe though, not for anything. Every single part of Aelin fuses to create the most amazing person Rowan’s ever met; Rowan adored everything about her—her witty remarks, her melodious laughter, her long golden hair, her beautiful turquoise eyes with a ring of gold, her bizzare and wicked humor, just about everything.

Gods, don’t even get Rowan started on her smile. Rowan fucking loves her smile. He would do anything in the world for her face to brighten with that glorious smile of hers. It’s the first thing he thinks of in the morning and the last before he goes to bed. Just thinking about her can light up his mood and make him smile.

Settling into the couch even more, Rowan drifted off to sleep with a smile on his face and his mind stuck on Aelin.

~

Rowan woke up with a start, accidentally jerking the dead weight on his arm. He felt warm breaths puff against his chest as he looked down at the culprit of his numb arm. Aelin lay in his arms, halfway on top of him, with her arm thrown across his waist and her legs entwined with his. Rowan smiled as he looked at her slightly open mouth and her golden blonde hair cascading down the edge of the couch.

Rowan had to get started on his project soon and he had his coffee waiting for him, but he couldn’t even move with Aelin lying on top of him, not that he wanted to anyway. So, giving in to this small defeat, Rowan stroked Aelin’s hair as he thought about his dream.

Rowan woke up to a smattering of kisses across his face and the loud giggling of a toddler, followed by quiet laughter. He felt a slight weight on his chest and small hands grabbing at the skin on his face. Opening his eyes, Rowan was met with striking cerulean blue eyes and a head of silver hair.

“Hey, papa!” The toddler grinned at Rowan, eliciting a smile from him.

“Hey, baby,” Rowan grabbed the toddler’s head and placed a loud smacking kiss on her forehead, evoking even more giggles from the kid.

He noticed Aelin drifting closer, hands cradling her swollen belly. “Alaïa wanted to wake you for breakfast. It only seemed fair to have her loudly slobbering all over you as your wake-up call since we all woke up early to make breakfast,” Aelin smiled as she spoke, her face glowing with happiness and amusement.

As Aelin sat on the edge of the bed, next to Rowan’s arm, she leaned down and pressed a kiss to his lips. Leaning in towards his ear, Aelin whispered, “Hurry up and get your spectacular ass downstairs before all the food is gone.” Aelin gathered Alaïa into her arms before leaving the bedroom.

By the time Rowan was downstairs, breakfast was in full swing. Instead of going to the dining table, Rowan stayed standing at the foot of the stairs, observing his family. A girl—with the same golden hair as Aelin and the same pine green eyes as Rowan—ate quietly with her shoulders back and her head held high. The boy across from her—with Aelin’s eyes and a head full of silver hair—smiled at his younger brother who was struggling with getting the food onto his spoon. The younger boy looked exactly like Rowan, as if someone made a clone of him with his hair.

Alaïa was a sight to behold. With food on her face and clothes, she looked to be having trouble maneuvering the food to her mouth with her spoon, accidentally flinging it into her silver hair instead. She seemed to be on the verge of tears from frustration, but with one quiet laugh from Aelin, Alaïa peered over at the smiling Aelin and gave a little giggle.

Aelin glanced up at Rowan in that moment and opened her mouth to say, “Da—”

A small noise of content broke Rowan out of his reverie. Rowan looked down and noticed that he’s still stroking Aelin’s hair as she nuzzles her head further into his hands. A small smile graced Aelin’s face, making her appear peaceful. Watching Aelin sleep made Rowan smile; he could watch her do anything and never get bored because he was just so enamored by her.

Rowan jerked to a stop. Enamored? His brows furrowed in confusion as he thought back to Aelin. Rowan does not believe he can live his life without Aelin in it; he doesn’t even want to think about the prospect of it.

As a groan broke out of Aelin’s lips, she snuggled closer to Rowan. He watched as her eyes fluttered open and she took in her surroundings before smiling up at him. It was the sight of that smile that made Rowan realize the truth of why he’d felt so satisfied upon smashing that ice cream cone into Chaol’s face and why his heart beat a bit faster whenever Aelin’s attention was on him. Just like it was now.

“Hi,” she croaked, voice still hoarse from sleep.

Rowan smiled, “Hi.” He looked around before looking back down at Aelin, “So, how’d you get in here?”

Her brows furrowed in confusion before she quickly snapped her fingers. “I broke in by using a rock to smash your windows,” Aelin grinned. Rowan felt blood draining from his face at her answer.

“WHAT?!” Rowan sprung up from the couch and walked to his front windows. Knowing Aelin, that couldn’t be exaggerated and didn’t sound like it’d be far from the truth. However, as he got to the curtains, he heard quiet giggles and turned around in time to hear them turn into loud cackles of laughter.

“Calm down, Buzzard. I was only kidding. I snuck into your backyard and used the key you hid in your shed by breaking down the shed door.” Aelin rolled her eyes at his exasperated expression, “Oh, don’t be so dramatic, you told me where you hid the spare key when you were confessing secrets while drunk off your ass,” Aelin waved a hand.

Rowan was never so mortified before. Secrets? Not just one, but more?!

Aelin must’ve seen the mortification written on his face because why else would she bellow with laughter like she was right now. Rowan just shook his head as he walked into his kitchen and grabbed his mug of coffee.

By the time he got back, Aelin was scowling at her phone.

“What’s wrong?” Rowan asked as he sat back on his couch and took a sip of his coffee. Aelin only groaned before throwing her hands up in the air and kicking her feet like a petulant child, causing Rowan to chuckle at Aelin’s antics.

“Chaol wants to go on another date,” Aelin frowned. “He’s insistent on continuing to meet up until he has to go back to Rifthold by the end of the summer.”

Rowan couldn’t help but frown along with Aelin. “I don’t understand why you won’t just call it quits. You obviously don’t like spending time with him.”

Aelin rolled her eyes in return. “I find his company companionable and I want to keep having him in my life.” Aelin sighed, “Anyway, can you please join us? He wants to have a picnic on the beach this Friday.”

Rowan thought about seeing half-naked Chaol and his grabby hands around half-naked Aelin on the beach and grimaced. He did not like the idea of seeing Chaol around Aelin at all, let alone a half-naked Aelin, so Rowan definitely had to go.

Rowan sighed as he ran his hand over his face, “I’ll go.”

“Really?” Aelin beamed. At Rowan’s slight nod, Aelin shifted on the couch and squeezed Rowan tight around the waist. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!” She murmured into his chest. Rowan wrapped his arms around her frame and squeezed her back. Rowan could definitely get used to this. Aelin pulled back a second later and stood up from the couch. “Okay, I’ve got to head home and feed fleetfoot now,” Aelin smiled, “Thanks for the amazing power nap.”

“Break in again anytime,” Rowan smiled as he heard her chuckle.

“Yeah, yeah, Buzzard.” Aelin waved goodbye before leaving the living room and closing the front door behind her.

Upon hearing Aelin leave his home, Rowan thought back to his revelation earlier today. Rowan Whitethorn was in love with his best friend and she didn’t even know it. He was screwed. He was so irrevocably screwed and he had no clue as to how he’d get himself out of this mess.

~

Rowan was fuming. He swore that steam was blowing out of his nose and ears like those cartoon characters. Aelin had given him a popsicle to “cool off” and right now, Rowan felt like a petulant child at the beach.

The whole day, Rowan’s been doing his damn best to block Chaol from Aelin, but it seemed like Chaol caught onto his game and is now quicker with his actions. Aelin hasn’t been helping either. Not with the way she’s voluntarily playing in the water with Chaol right now in her show-stopping black bikini with embroidered little golden dragons.

Earlier, Chaol offered to put sunscreen on Aelin’s body for her. Before Rowan could beat him to it, Chaol had already started applying the cream to her long tan legs. Aelin didn’t even protest, but she didn’t miss the sharp glare Rowan sent Chaol’s way, silently laughing at Rowan.

It certainly didn’t help when Chaol was applying the sunscreen slowly, as if trying to memorize the feel of her skin. And instead of quickly stopping Chaol, Aelin keenly kept an eye on Rowan, an amused look on her face as she caught the narrowing of his eyes.

A while later, they played in the sand together like two toddlers on a date. Aelin giggled the whole time as she buried Chaol in the sand and created a mermaid body for him. Rowan figured she needed help getting sand so he repeatedly kicked sand towards Chaol from where he sat on his beach chair. A lot of the sand landed on Chaol’s face, which earned him a shout and glare from Chaol, but it wasn’t Rowan’s fault that the sand landed on his face when Rowan aimed it towards his neck.

Totally not his fault. Must’ve been the wind.

Aelin seemed to be amused by the whole ordeal, if the twinkle in her eyes and the giant smile spread on her face were anything to go by.

The rest of the day seemed like it was “Ignore Rowan Time” because they both ignored Rowan and kept to each other. They went to buy popsicles together and deserted Rowan at the beach. They reappeared about twenty minutes later, only to desert him again to go into the water. Rowan had enough of it.

Now, Rowan watched from afar as Chaol put his slimy hands all over Aelin, carrying her onto his shoulders and dropping her into the water. Sighing in frustration, Rowan angrily bit down a big bite of the popsicle before throwing the rest into the trash can a few feet away.

Grumbling the whole way, Rowan walked down towards the water, looking for ways to easily throw Chaol into it. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Aelin spin towards him, smiling as she looked at him. Rowan returned a small smile, hoping it didn’t look like a grimace.

As Rowan crept towards Chaol, he kept eye contact with Aelin, conveying his plans to her through the movement of his eyes. Aelin’s face shone with amusement as her eyes held a mischievous gleam. Chaol, noticing something amiss and Aelin’s wandering eyes, turned just in time to be tackled into the water by Rowan’s broad shoulders.

Aelin cackled as Chaol’s arms flailed above the water, paying no attention to Rowan as he stalked toward her. It was already too late by the time Aelin felt herself get lifted by Rowan’s hands.

“Don’t you dare, Buzzard,” Aelin warned as she repeatedly slapped Rowan’s bare back. Rowan only slapped her butt in return, to which Aelin quickly gasped, “Rowan Whitethorn! You did not jus—”

Aelin was thrown into the water before she could even finish her sentence. Rowan watched in amusement as Aelin’s arms flailed before she pulled herself above water, spitting a mouthful of salty water at Rowan’s chest. Wiping the water from her face, Aelin glared at Rowan before running as best she could in water and trying to tackle Rowan. Rowan was immovable, but he grabbed her around the waist and fell backwards into the water anyway, pulling Aelin with him.

Up above the water again, Aelin glared at him and huffed as she crossed her arms over her chest, Rowan’s arms still encasing her to his body. Rowan’s chuckle reverberated through Aelin’s body from where their bodies were touching.

The sun was setting, creating beautiful hues of pinks and oranges that reflected off of the many white fluffy clouds in the sky. Seeing Aelin bathed in that light was surreal. The ring of gold in her beautiful turquoise eyes, eyes that Rowan loves, more accentuated in the golden sunlight. Her golden hair glowing as if it was on fire. Aelin looked stunning.

Aelin grinned as Rowan’s hand flattened against her waist, his fingers contracting as if debating letting her go. Rowan noticed Aelin’s hand lifting to cup his face. Her hand was warm, as though the warmth of the sun she personified extended to her fingertips.

Rowan stared into her deep questioning gaze, eyes inquisitive as if waiting for him to do something. Rowan could only stare as she carefully stroked her thumb across his cheekbone, her hands slick with the beach water.

His eyes locked onto hers as she lifted her other hand to his face, her fingers tracing the lines of the tattoo along his temple. Rowan’s breathing turned ragged as he was reminded of the day’s events: how he was constantly left behind to watch over their things, how he was left out of the activities Aelin and Chaol had chosen to do, and how utterly frustrated and defeated he’d felt when Aelin didn’t try to avoid Chaol’s advances on her.

“Rowan,” Aelin breathed as her fingers slid down the side of his tattooed cheek, reminding Rowan of the way she’d touched Chaol today and how she’d allowed that touch to be reciprocated.

He quickly yanked both wrists off his face. He didn’t want her to touch him when she was fawning over some other man. He dropped her hands and stepped back, staring at her as she briefly closed her eyes in hurt.

“Don’t do that,” Rowan rasped, “Don’t—touch me like that.”

Aelin swallowed, her face burning red, “I’m sorry.” She backed away a step. “I’m sorry,” she repeated. “It was nothing.”

Rowan’s eyes shuttered, “Good.” The word repeated in his head. “Fine.”

Nothing. Nothing. Nothing.

Rowan kept a neutral face as he stalked away, trying not to look like a wounded puppy. He quickly toweled himself off before gathering his things and leaving the beach without Aelin in tow.

~

Rowan didn’t know why he was here. He’d definitely ruined things between him and Aelin if the hurt on her face was anything to go by. But, Rowan couldn’t go to sleep knowing that he’d done something that hurt Aelin. He’d lied in his bed, staring at his ceiling before deciding to just go apologize to her. He didn’t look at the time at all, just put on some clothes and left his house. He didn’t take his phone, didn’t take anything but the keys in his hands.

Now, Rowan was staring at a small two-story cream-colored house. Kingsflame flowers lined either side of the short path leading to the front door. Aelin’s favorite flowers.

“Fuck,” Rowan sighed. He shook his head as he slowly brought it to lean against his car horn. “I should’ve gotten her flowers.” He glanced at the clock to see if there’d be a possibility for him to make a quick trip to the flower shop. 2:48, the clock read.

The flower shop wouldn’t even be open at this time.

Rowan sighed as he quietly got out of his car and made his way up to Aelin’s door, dread pooling in his stomach at the idea of Aelin ignoring him completely. As Rowan waited after ringing the doorbell, he took note of the light ballad coming out of Aelin’s small home, the sorrowful melody hitting him in the chest. Aelin only ever listened to that type of music when she was feeling heartbroken and Rowan was hurt knowing that he’d been the one to cause that pain.

He rang the doorbell another time before deciding that she probably couldn’t hear if her music could be heard from outside. Sighing, Rowan pulled out his phone and called her, hearing the music pause for the duration of an unanswered call, and waited until the call went to voicemail before he reluctantly walked to the fourth kingsflame flower from her front door.

Rowan, then, got onto his knees and dug out dirt until he was met with Aelin’s spare key, which was only supposed to be used in dire emergencies.

Oh, this was very dire.

Grimacing at his dirty hands, Rowan walked back towards the front door and opened it before getting inside. Rowan threw the spare key onto the counter before rinsing his hands and hightailing towards Aelin’s bedroom.

Slamming open the French doors, Rowan’s eyes frantically searched for Aelin, finding the woman standing at the threshold of her connected bathroom in nothing but a blue towel wrapped around her lithe frame.

Shocked still, Aelin stood with wide, puffy, red eyes and a frown marring her beautiful face. Rowan knew she’d taken a bath to feel better, but it wasn’t enough to abate her emotions if the tears still lining her eyes were anything to go by.

Rowan’s chest hurt, his face crumpling in pain at the sight of her. “I am so, so sorry, Aelin,” Rowan apologized as he looked deeply into her sorrowful eyes. “I hadn’t meant to react like that—like your touch had been so repulsive that I had to quickly get rid of it. But when you did touch me, I was reminded of how you’d touched Chaol earlier in the day, how you’d allowed yourself to be touched by him. I didn’t like watching you with him, let alone touching him.” Rowan took a step forward and some of his anxiety quelled at the insistence in her eyes for him to keep talking. “I was mad and I took it out on you. I’m sorry.”

Aelin seemed at a loss for words as she silently processed everything he’d said, her eyes analyzing his face as she searched for the sincerity of his words. Her head tilted slightly as if trying to further understand his words. “Why were you mad?”

Rowan subtly winced as rubbed the back of his neck, ducking his head and staring at the wooden floor. “Like I said, I don’t like Chaol,” Rowan explained.

“No, no. You said you didn’t like watching me with Chaol. You were jealous,” Aelin deadpanned.

“Mad or jealous, I don’t care. All I care about is you and the fact that I love you,” Rowan shouted as he threw his hands into the air.

Aelin’s breath hitched as she stared in shock at his sudden outburst. Her mouth opened and closed a couple of times before she gaped at him. “Wh-what did you just say?” Aelin sputtered.

“I had a dream, Aelin. I was woken up by a 2 or 3 year-old child and she was laying on my chest when you walked in. You told me that you had her wake me up by giggling and kissing my face because while I slept in, you and the kids woke up early to make breakfast. Our children were in that dream and you were pregnant with our fifth child.” Rowan ran a hand through his hair before he took the remaining steps between them and gently cupped her face as he looked into her eyes. “When I actually woke up, you were right there in my arms. I’d never been more peaceful and content than when you were in my arms. As you were laying there, I’d realized I wanted that dream to become reality. And, I wanted that with you. You’re it for me, baby. You’re my dream and my forever. I love you, Aelin. Please forgive me.” Rowan gently rested his forehead against hers as he wiped the tears streaming down Aelin’s face.

Aelin’s hands came up to grasp his elbows as Rowan leaned down and kissed her right cheek, his hands moving to tuck her hair behind her ears. His lips moved towards her other cheek, pressing another light kiss there before moving onto both of her eyelids. He continued placing light kisses onto her forehead, her nose, and her chin.

As Rowan got to her lips, he angled his head away from her face to stare into her eyes, seemingly asking for permission to continue his path. When Aelin reached her hands up and gently cradled his face as he slowly leaned in, Rowan threw all caution to the wind and finally pressed his lips on hers.

Kissing Aelin was better than anything Rowan had ever known. The soft and hesitant, yet determined and insistent press of her lips against his set his body on fire. Rowan felt like he was burning inside out, but he didn’t care because every second with this woman in his arms was worth burning to ashes.

Pulling away, Aelin looked into his eyes, placed her hands on his shoulders, and said, “I know.”

Rowan pulled back a bit, pressing another kiss to her lips before looking at her questioningly. “What do you mean you know?” Rowan gently rested his hands on her waist and pulled her closer to his body.

Aelin sighed, “I mean, I know that you love me. Don’t worry, I love you, too, Rowan.” Aelin leaned onto her toes to lightly kiss him on his lips. “Why do you think I’d devised all these plans to make you jealous anyway?” Aelin shrugged.

Thrown off guard, Rowan froze as he stared her down. “Plans to make me jealous? What are you talking about? How did you know?”

“All I have to say is that you need to learn how to control your alcohol intake. Getting a love confession from my best friend when he’s shitfaced drunk was not how I planned on learning about his undying love for me.” Aelin waved a hand, “Anyway, I had Chaol act like an obsessed lover so you would get riled up and finally make a move. He’s truly only a friend that’s visiting for the summer and he has a fiancée back in Adarlan; she's actually in on it too, so no need to worry. I’m not so sure if my plan was a good or a bad idea, considering the tumultuous outcome.” Aelin glanced up at him to gauge his reaction.

Rowan didn’t know whether he should laugh or cry. A sudden laugh erupted out of Rowan, startling both him and Aelin. “It was definitely a good plan if I’m able to be yours in the end,” Rowan muttered, leaning down to kiss Aelin.

Aelin pulled back and quirked a brow. “Who said you could be mine?” The question was paired with Aelin’s arms crossing over her chest. Rowan immediately paled.

“Well,” Rowan rubbed the back of his neck, “I assumed that since you reciprocated my feelings, you’d be my girlfriend now, but…” Rowan trailed off awkwardly.

“Did you ask yet?” Aelin inquired, a serious expression taking over her face.

Gripping Aelin’s hands in his, Rowan looked into her eyes as he asked, “Aelin Ashryver Galathynius, will you do me the honor of allowing me to become your boyfriend?”

Aelin pretended to be thinking for a few seconds, eliciting a pinch in the side from Rowan. Aelin grinned, a smile so beautiful, Rowan would be a fool to not smile back.

“Of course, Buzzard.”

[corysmiles]

Giant house AU submission!! :D

Cw for language. Techno doesn't swear but the giants does. (It's only like, 2 words if I remember correctly)

———

Now that it had finally sunk in Techno's head that it's winter, he's starting to feel how cold it is. He thought that it was cold before, but noooo it's colder now. Seriously, why's it so much colder in the Giants' land?

Techno huffed. He supposes there's nothing he can do about the climate. If it's cold, it's cold.

But, there is something he can do about his body temperature. He can make thicker clothes.

With the plan to take more fabric from the giants in his mind, Techno began his plan.

***

Day(night) two of taking fabric for his winter clothes. He thinks he should stop.

The first night was fine. Aside from the usual "avoiding the nocturnal giant", He manages to take some fabric from the Bird Giant's room. Side note, the Bird giant's crow's feathers are a good material for extra thickness. He managed to make an inner lining for his current cloak with it, maybe he should consider using it for bed material.

But today, a harsh, cold night for Techno, The phantom giant— Wilbur, was it?— left out an oddly-placed lantern. It was placed dangerously near the place he dropped a can a few nights ago, and Techno is fairly sure it's a trap. He shouldn't do his plan today, it's dangerous. Plus, Chat is screaming at him to retreat, overly wary about the usually-wandering Phantom giant.

Night three, the blizzard has not died down. In fact, it became stronger. Techno's current cloak is not built for winter. Even with the extra giant crow feathers' lining, and the extra addition of his usually-warm body, it doesn't matter, he's freezing cold.

Techno gave a quick glance to the lantern that the Wilbur giant left out. He instinctively gulped. Lantern has fire inside of it, that means warmth. Besides, the phantom giant didn't come around this area to check last night, it- it might not be a trap, right?

Slowly, Techno approaches the lantern, ignoring Chat that is screaming "NO" and "HE'S THERE" with each step closer he checks his surroundings for any giants, and with each step he doesn't see any signs of giant, he gets closer and warmer to the lantern.

Last step, he checks around, and he practically melts to the warmness of the lantern. It's bliss.

So obviously, Techno doesn't realize about the phantom giant who caught a glimpse of his shadow relaxing againts the lantern he left. And of course, Techno doesn't see the warm smile that was plastered on the giant's face as he left the scene. Chat does, though, but Techno was too sleepy(he slept) to notice.

ｏｏｏ

Night four, and he didn't take enough fabric again. He contemplated not taking it today, though, since this morning he had been caught by the Bird Giant's crows, and he really don't want to go to the Moth Giant's—Tommy, he remembered,— room (It was practically a maze—and a dangerous one at that— with the occasional toys and maybe spiders(normal sized, not the one that's double the size of him) in the corner) Or the Phantom Giant's room. But he's so close to finishing the winter clothes, and he has to finish the thing as soon as possible.

So, after a bit of thought, he decided to take fabric scraps from the Phantom Giant's room. He heard the Moth Giant got scolded this morning due to his messy room, and from the looks of it, the Moth Giant has no intention to clean his room. So Techno decided it'll be easier to take from the Wilbur giant room. It's messy and tidy enough to have places to hide and find stray fabric scraps. He can do this.

As soon as he goes out, though, a strum of melody plays. The vibration shook his whole body, and he tensed up. From his hiding spot, he saw the giant is tuning his guitar.

It was loud. Both his head and the sound. Techno almost retreated right there. Almost. Until the Wilbur giant started playing his guitar.

It was a sad tune, slow and heavy. But it's nice to hear. Wilbur is a good musician. Chat is split between wanting him to lean in closer to the music and to "Watch out!" but almost none of them wanted him to retreat. It's nice, having this kind of slow moment after a while of him and Chat being anxious about being found out. For a moment, Techno contemplated to sit down and just.. sing.

But he didn't, it's too risky, he's come this far, he shouldn't be found out. So he takes the fabric scraps he needed, and left.

ｏｏｏ

This time, it's day. And he's currently in a undesirable situation.

He had hoped to take some more shedded feathers. He needed to make that makeshift mattress. So he went into the Bird Giant's (Phil, wasn't it? Or was it Philza? Maybe both) room, and prepared to take more shedded crow feather. And he's in luck! There was a pile of shedded feather— maybe two or three giant-sized feathers— and that instantly became his target.

And he honestly doesn't know the reason he thought that taking the Giant's stuffs in the day was a good idea. Because he's currently waiting motionless in the pile of feathers. Bird giant currently discussing something with the Moth giant, and one of the Bird Giant's crows are looking at the pile he's sitting on with an intent look. He shouldn't move. If he moves, there's another chance he'll get carried by the crows again, and he may not be unfound like last time, since this time there's another giant.

So there he was, currently in the 5th minute, as he stood still while waiting for the giants to stop talking. He doesn't remember if conversations usually lasts this long, or maybe it's because the Moth giant is just so good (and loud) at talking. Either way, this is not good.

It's currently the 7th minute, and the Phantom giant has joined in, Techno contemplated to just run, but he's so sure that more crows are looking at him, so he stopped.

12th minute, and he's playing word games in silent with Chat. It's an unusual situation.

14th minute, He's sleepy. He hasn't slept well, and oh dang this feather pile is so soft

16th minute, Technoblade is asleep. Not even Chat can wake him up. The "stream" is off

***

That was a long conversation.

Tommy started by whining about how he wanted an apple tree in the background because it'll be "Poggers". Of course, Phil declined. But then Wilbur fucking joined in and tries to convince him to plant an apple tree. Sometimes, Phil hates Wilbur's ability to give solid argument however bizzare is the subject is. Phil decides to buy an apple tree sprout, afterall.

With a sigh, he looked around his room, shit, since when it's became so cluttered? There's even a pile of feathers in the ground! When the fuck did his crows do that? He gave a small glare towards his crows, who wasn't even fazed. Who's he kidding, they're crows. Phil gave himself a light laugh at the thought.

He should sweep the floor first, then he'll go to the market to buy the apple sprout.

But, upon starting to sweep the floor, he notices a dim red figure in it. Curious, Phil sat down and continued to stare at the figure. Two seconds and he realized that the figure is a human. They're real, the small creatures that supposedly live in a distant/imagination place, they're actually real.

Another two second passed before Phil caught himself reaching out to the tiny creature sleeping in front of him. He snapped out of his instinct to just, hold the tiny and protect him from the big world around them. But he stopped, realizing the thought of waking up on top of the hand of a being that could seriously hurt you is a terrifying experience.

So he waited. With a bit of distance between him and the human, he waited intently for the human to wake up, shushing his crows when he saw one of them wanting to take the human.

It didn't take long before the human woke up. After lottle wake-up routine like stretching, he looked around, and noticing Phil's figure looking at him with anticipation oozing from his heart. The human froze.

"Hello." Phil started.

The human ran. Not looking back as they disappeared into the wall.

Phil sighed at the sight. It's honestly should be an expected reaction.

"I hope I don't scare you too much. I'm Phil" Phil introduced himself to the surroundings, hoping the human would hear him "I have no intention to hurt you, and if there's something you need, feel free to talk to us. We're not evil" He finishes, tone light in hope for the human to not be scared.

Well. Time for that apple sprout, huh?

Edit: OH MY GODHXJWNZN, I love this so much thank you :”] I really love Phil just waiting for him to wake up it’s so sweet